A Man Said to the Universe...

A man said to the universe:
“Sir I exist!”
“However,” replied the universe,
“The fact has not created in me
A sense of obligation.”

This is a poem by Stephen Crane. I first saw it six years ago on an MBTA advertisement for the MFA and it has stuck with me ever since. This may just be the most honest piece of philosophy that I have ever experienced.

After all, what does the universe owe us, anyway?

However, this lack of obligation on the part of the Universe also means that we can enjoy whatever successes we can string together within our own lives because WE are solely responsible for making it happen; both individually and with the people that we surround ourselves with.

And I find that very liberating, somehow...

The "Miracle Worker" is gone

James Doohan has died.

James "Scotty" Doohan has died

Now a lot of you might be saying to yourselves "Who cares?"

Screw you.

"Star Trek" - the original series - reveled in the qualities that make human beings "human". There was compassion, love, hate, fear, desire, lust, heroism, sacrifice, fun, etc.

Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott of the U.S.S. Enterprise embodied all of these attributes.

Apparently, so did James Doohan. Obviously I didn't know the man. From all accounts he was as stubborn, courageous, warm, funny and genuine as his alter-ego. I always liked the fact that while all of the other supporting characters hated William Shatner in silence it was Jimmy Doohan with the stones to actually say it in print for all to see. I admired that. He also fathered a child when he was 80. I admire that, too but for entirely different reasons.

As a kid, the characters of "Star Trek" were every bit as real, and as vibrant, to me as the legends of the Round Table, Robin Hood or The Iliad. Larger than life men boldy going forth to explore the unknown, to extend the hand of friendship to new civilizations and to defend themselves or their beliefs when necessary. As I got older, I realized that their stories are "just" stories but they are tales that need to be told. Every civilization needs their myths. We may not have Jason & the Argonauts, Hercules, Arthur & Merlin or the Merry Men of Nottingham. What we do have is Captain James T. Kirk, Commander Spock, Dr. leonard H. "Bones" McCoy, Lt Cmdr Montgomery Scott and crew boarding the Starship Enterprise "To boldly go where no man has gone before".

James Doohan may be gone but the character he so artfully brought to life will live on forever.

For myself, I hate acknowledging that another "Star Trek" legend has gone to the Final Frontier. It has the damnedest effect of reminding me that my TV heroes are getting older...and so am I.

What family was watching this, anyway?

I didn't think that I would be ranting so soon. Yet, here we are.

I just read that Ben Jones ("Cooter" from "The Dukes of Hazzard" TV series) is urging fans to boycott the new movie because, in his words, "Basically, they trashed our show," said Jones, who now lives in the mountains of Washington, Va. "It's one thing to do whatever movie they want to do, but to take a classic family show and do that is like taking "I Love Lucy" and making her a crackhead or something."

I'm sorry, what? A classic family show?? "The Dukes of Hazzard"? Wow. When I was watching the Dukes of Hazzard I was certain of two things:

• I was watching it to catch a glimpse (any glimpse) of Daisy Duke is as little clothing as possible.
• My family and I were NOT watching it together.

And comparing "The Dukes of Hazzard" to "I Love Lucy" is just wrong.

As a rule I am completely against "updating" a TV series as an excuse to make a movie. This type of thinking has lead to the current decline of originality in Hollywood (the subject of another rant, I'm sure). However, as fond as Mr. Jones is of his 15 minutes of fame I have to wonder how seriously deluded the man is to actually believe that "The Dukes of Hazzard" was a family show and that it can even be mentioned in the same breath as "I Love Lucy" - and I'm not even a big fan of "Lucy".

And just the thought of either "Lucy" or "Ethel" in a pair of 'Daisy Dukes' has made me nauseous...

Thanks, Cooter.

And so it begins...

Here is my first foray into the wild new (well, really not so much new anymore) world of blogging, the arena for people to share their day-to-day thoughts with millions of readers.

In my case, maybe two people will check this out daily - myself and Nicole Kidman. She knows why...

If this is your first time here I welcome you. Come on in, sit back, and let your mouse scroll over my musings. If you like what you read then let me know. If you don't like what you read then definitely let me know that, too.

If you would like a transcript of any blog then feel free to copy and paste the text onto your own damn word doc and don't bother me with your petty requests.

Onward through the fog.